1095-1291: As the influence of Islam grows, Christian Crusaders from Europe come to the Middle East to fight its spread.

Muslims have ruled Jerusalem since 638, but Christians are permitted to visit the city on pilgrimage. By the 11th century, however, the Seljuk Turks, now in control of Jerusalem, begin to prevent such pilgrimages. To reclaim Jerusalem from the Muslims, Pope Urban II helps launch the first of what will ultimately be seven military assaults that run through the 13th century. The Crusaders eventually capture Jerusalem in 1099, but overall fail in their quest: The Crusades do not result in any permanent conquests in the Middle East, nor do they slow the spread of Islam. Another part of their legacy: The Crusades bear tremendous responsibility for the intolerance that develops between Christians and Muslims as well as Jews and followers of eastern Christian churches, who also fell victim to the Crusades.

1517-1918: The Ottoman Empire extends over most of the Arab world.

The Ottoman Empire begins in the 1300s in what is now Turkey. Between 1516 and 1517, the Ottomans conquer the Arab provinces. Islam is one of the major forces holding the diverse empire together. Ottoman law, in fact, is derived from both Islamic law and edicts of the sultan. In the 1700s and 1800s, though, the once-powerful Ottoman Empire starts to lose power. On the hunt for new territories to conquer, Great Britain, France, and Russia begin to interfere in the affairs and territories of the Ottoman Empire as well as in Egypt. The Ottomans retain control over the Balkans until the early 1900s, and over most of the Arab world until 1918. On the losing side of World War I, their lands are dispersed to Allied powers, including Great Britain and France.

1798-1801: Napoleon Bonaparte, the French military commander, invades and conquers Egypt.

Napoleon, one of the greatest military commanders in history, wants to destroy British trade with the Middle East. After landing in Egypt with 35,000 troops, he quickly captures Alexandria. He then leads his soldiers across the desert, and Cairo falls to him as well. After fighting the Turks in Syria, Napoleon leaves his troops in Egypt to return to France.

1830: France conquers and colonizes Algeria.

Algeria is France's first colony in North Africa. With it, France begins a policy of assimilation aimed at making the colonists into model French citizens, with little regard for their native culture and history.

1853-1971: Britain maintains control over several independent emirates of the Persian Gulf.

In 1853, Britain and the Arab sheikhdoms of the Persian Gulf sign the Perpetual Maritime Truce, in which the Arabs agree to recognize Britain as the dominant power in the Gulf. Though it never assumes sovereignty over them, Britain controls the foreign affairs of these emirates and maintains responsibility for their protection. The Trucial States, as they were called, will later join together to make up the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

1881: Anti-Jewish riots (pogroms) in southern Russia lead Alexander III to expel Jews from the region.

With the czarist government under threat from rioting revolutionaries, Alexander III issues a new policy against the Jews, whom he insists are responsible for the riots. The May Laws state that Jews are forbidden to settle outside the towns and shtetls (townlets); deeds of sale and lease of real estate in the name of Jews outside the towns and shtetls are canceled; and Jews are prohibited from trading on Sundays and Christian holidays. Where Alexander II's policies towards Jews had been liberal, Alexander III's lead to their systematic expulsion from towns and villages where they had lived for almost a century. Though the pogroms stop, the threat of riots is kept alive by an anti-Semitic press. By 1914 almost two and a half million Jews will flee Russia.

1881: The French conquer and colonize Tunisia.

Tunisia will not regain independence until the 1950s.

September 1882: British troops take control of Egypt.

After Egyptian nationalist supporters rebel against Egypt's British-backed government, British troops attack and occupy Alexandria before defeating opposition forces. Britain is primarily interested in protecting its investment in the Suez Canal, a crucial communication and transportation link to British colonies in India.

February 1896: Theodor Herzl publishes his vision for a state where Jews could live free from persecution.

After covering the Dreyfus Affair, a trial of a Jewish officer in the French army who was wrongfully accused as a traitor, Theodor Herzl, a Jewish journalist from Vienna, publishes a pamphlet called "The Jewish State." Disturbed by the wave of anti-Semitism set off by the trial, Herzl calls for a state in which Jews can live without fear of persecution. He travels the world over to find monetary and political support for his vision.

1901: The Jewish National Fund is established to purchase land in Palestine.

Under the guidance of Theodor Herzl, the Jewish National Fund (JNF) is established to purchase land in Palestine. The JNF makes its first purchase in 1903, and at the 1948 declaration of the State of Israel, Jews will own nearly 7 percent of the whole country.

1902-1932: Wahhabi leader Abd al-Aziz ibn Saud recaptures a major city in Saudi Arabia, beginning a 30-year campaign to unify the Arabian Peninsula.

Wahhabi leader Abd al-Aziz ibn Saud is the founder of Saudi Arabia and its first king. He spends his youth, along with his family, the Saud family -- leaders of the ultraorthodox Wahhabi movement in Islam -- in exile. In 1902 Abd al-Aziz ibn Saud and a small group of relatives and servants recapture Riyadh (now Saudi Arabia's country's capital and major city) and reclaim power for his family.
Over the next 30 years, ibn Saud will lead a campaign to unify, under his rule, the many warring tribes who live on the Arabian Peninsula. This unification lays the foundations for the modern state of Saudi Arabia, which is officially recognized on September 23, 1932. Many people in the Arabian Peninsula practice a revivalist form of Islam called Wahhabi Islam, after its founder, Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab. It is sometimes unfairly characterized as "extremist" in today's media and society.

1905: Attendees at the Seventh Zionist Congress decide that Palestine is the only suitable place for a Jewish state.

At the Sixth Zionist Congress two years earlier, delegates had agreed to consider the establishment of a Jewish settlement in East Africa. But after considering a site in Uganda (now Kenya), attendees at the Seventh Congress (held in Basel, Switzerland), conclude that an East African site would be inappropriate for a mass Jewish settlement.

In 1918, the Violet Line, as it is known, is a boundary drawn to separate the Ottoman and British spheres of influence in Yemen and to prevent future clashes. It is literally drawn on a map with a ruler, using violet ink. This line will later form the border between Northern and Southern Yemen when these lands gain statehood in the 1960s. The two divisions are united in 1990.

Muzaffar al-Din Shah signs Persia's first constitution. The Constitutional Revolution aims to make the state leader accountable to a written code of law, thereby limiting royal power and lessening government corruption. The constitution also calls for the establishment of the Majlis, or elected parliament.

1906: Excavations in Turkey uncover the ruins of an ancient city.

The city unearthed by the excavations near Angora (now Ankara), Turkey, is the ancient Hittite city Hattusas, the capital of the Hittite Empire during the second millennium B.C.E. Though the Hittites inhabit Anatolia (the Asian part of what is now called Turkey), they are not the first Turks. The first Turks, nomadic tribes who bring Islam from Persia, will not settle in Anatolia until about 1030 C.E.

1907: The Shah of Persia (Iran) dies and is succeeded by his son.

Muzaffar al-Din Shah, who had become Shah after his father's death by assassination in 1896, dies in 1907. His son, Mohammed Ali Shah, succeeds him. Like his father, he is considered a weak leader, and after two years he is deposed and replaced on the throne by his son, 12-year-old Sultan Ahmed Shah, and a regency.

1907: Persia (Iran) is divided into three zones, each one controlled by a different country.

To protect their economic interests in the region, Russia and Great Britain divide Persia into three zones. Russia controls the northern zone, Great Britain the southern zone, and the Shah of Iran controls the neutral middle zone.

July 6-24, 1908: The Young Turk Party leads the Turkish Revolution, demanding the restoration of the Ottoman constitution.

Concerned with the continuing centralization of power under Sultan Abdul Hamit and convinced that the growing economic influence of foreign powers will end the Ottoman Empire, the predominantly upper-class Young Turk movement takes action. The revolution, largely organized from France by the movement's exiled leaders, is proclaimed on July 6. The Young Turks manage to convince the troops sent to oppose any revolutionaries to refuse their orders. On July 21, the party sends a telegraph to the sultan demanding the immediate restoration and implementation of the constitution of 1876 and the restoration of a parliamentary form of government, threatening him with dethronement should he not comply. On July 24, the sultan announces that the old constitution is again in effect.

1909: Tel Aviv is built by the Jews.

A group of Jews intent on founding an alternative city to the crowded, predominantly Arab port city of Jaffa buy uninhabited sand dunes to the north and create a garden suburb. They name it Tel Aviv, which translates to "Hill of Spring." Tel Aviv becomes the first modern Jewish city, with a population of 35,000 by 1921 and 200,000 by 1948.

Starting in 1904, Yahya bin Muhammad, an imam, or religious leader, has been leading Yemeni tribes opposed to Ottoman occupation. In 1911, he, and not the centralized Ottoman government, is recognized as the ruling power of the Northern Yemen highland people.

1915-1916: The Ottomans initiate a policy of ethnic cleansing and kill 1.5 million Armenians.

The Young Turk government, the final Ottoman regime, massacres more than 1.5 million ethnic Armenians, a Christian minority within the empire. The killings are condemned by the world's major powers of the time -- even by their German and Austrian allies in World War I. Today, the Turkish government denies that there was an Armenian genocide, saying instead that Armenians were only relocated from the eastern war zone.

March 1915-January 1916: An estimated 500,000 are injured and 100,000 die when Ottoman forces fight against an Allied attack at Gallipoli.

Two waterways -- the Dardanelles and Bosporus Straits -- provided the only passage between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea; thus, this was the only supply route between France and Britain and their ally Russia. The Allied forces wanted to wrest control of these waterways from Ottoman strongholds along the Gallipoli Peninsula, and committed nearly a half million troops in their attempt to do so. Naval and air strikes were followed by troop landings and ground combat at close range. The standoff was epic, and the number of casualties on both sides high. Ultimately, the Turkish forces repelled the Allied attack.
With so many Allied troops committed to the unsuccessful campaign at Gallipoli, Germany was able to more easily pursue its military objectives on the eastern front, and World War I continued another two years. The courage shown by the Turkish forces in defending their positions, as well as the leadership of Mustafa Kemal, served as great examples for their War of Liberation, which followed in 1920.

July 1915-March 1916: Britain gains the support of Arabs in World War I after promising independence for Arab states.

While the Ottoman Empire enters the war on Germany's side, the Arabs (led by Sherif Hussein of Mecca) agree to side with the Allies (Britain, France, and Russia). They do so because of an agreement known as the Hussein-McMahon Correspondence in which Britain promises independence to what is now Syria, Palestine (Israel), Jordan, Iraq, and the Arabian Peninsula should the Allies win the war. Unbeknownst to the Arabs, however, Britain also signs the Sykes-Picot Agreement with France later in 1916. This pact, which directly contradicts Hussein-McMahon, details a plan to split up most of the Middle East region between Britain and France should they defeat the Axis powers.
Britain makes a third conflicting agreement, the Balfour Declaration. After ousting the Ottomans from both Jerusalem and Baghdad, they promise to support the establishment of a national home for the Jewish people in Palestine.

May 1916: British and French negotiate the Sykes-Picot Agreement.

A secret understanding negotiated during World War I between Great Britain and France (with Russian consent), the Sykes-Picot agreement outlines the division of Ottoman-controlled lands into various French- and British-administered areas. The agreement is named after its negotiators, Sir Mark Sykes of Britain and Georges Picot of France.
The agreement, implemented in 1919, contradicts the agreement the British made with the Arabs at the start of the war (the Hussein-McMahon Correspondence), which promised the Arabs independence of what is now Syria, Palestine (Israel), Jordan, Iraq, and the Arabian Peninsula.

1917: In the Balfour Declaration, the British promise to help create a national home for the Jews in Palestine.

Since the late 1800s, Zionists had wanted a Jewish state to be created in Palestine, part of the Jews' holy land. Though the wording of the Balfour Declaration is vague, it implies that Great Britain will support the Zionists in establishing such a state.
"His Majesty's Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavors to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country."
The Arabs perceive the Balfour Declaration as an act of British dishonesty. They believe the British had promised them to help with the establishment of a united Arab country reaching from the Red Sea to the Persian Gulf in return for their support during World War I.

1918-1922: A nationalist movement in Egypt leads to Egyptian independence.

Saad Zaghlul leads a delegation to meet with the ruling British High Commissioner and demand independence for Egypt. He is refused, and his subsequent arrest and deportation spark anti-British riots. The growing popular support of the nationalistic Wafd Party -- "wafd" is Arabic for "delegation" -- prompts Britain to grant Egypt limited independence in February 1922 and install a king as head of state. Britain, which has served as Egypt's protectorate since 1914, retains control over essential government institutions, including the parliament; finances; education; and the Sudan. It also keeps troops in the Suez Canal zone. Egypt will gain full independence after World War II.

August 18, 1919: Afghanistan declares its independence from Great Britain.

When Afghan King Emir Habibullah Khan is murdered in February near Jalalabad, his son, Amanullah Khan, seizes power, proclaims Afghanistan a sovereign and independent nation, and attacks British troops in India. The Third Anglo-Afghan War lasts just one month. Britain agrees to an armistice and recognizes Afghan independence.

Afghanistan's first constitution (1923) guarantees civil rights and creates a legislature and court system to enforce the new laws. Amanullah privatizes land, abolishes slavery, and improves educational opportunities for boys and girls. He also seeks to Westernize Afghan culture, overturning centuries-old customs. Conservative tribal and religious leaders resist these changes, however, and call for new leadership.

April 25, 1920: Former Ottoman-controlled territories in the Middle East are assigned as mandates to Allied powers.

At the post-World War I San Remo Conference in Italy, former Ottoman-controlled territories are allotted as "mandates" among the victorious Allies. Established as part of the Treaty of Versailles, the mandate system entrusts Britain and France with the task of governing the territories until it is determined that they are ready for independence. Syria and Lebanon are assigned to France, Palestine and Iraq to Britain. Transjordan is created from the Palestine Mandate in 1921.

July 1920: Arabs in Iraq rebel against British rule.

Riots break out in what becomes known as the Great Iraqi Revolution. Iraq is placed under British mandate.

August 10, 1920: Turkish forces attack Greece and Armenia.

As part of the armistice ending World War I, the sultan signs the Sevres Treaty, promising to give land to Greece and Armenia. Mustafa Kemal, a former Ottoman army officer and president of the recently formed Grand National Assembly, denounces the sultan's decision and leads an army to recapture and hold this territory as a Turkish state. This resistance becomes known as the War of Liberation.

October 1920: Iraq elects a new king.

A temporary government is established in Iraq, to be assisted by British advisors. Britain had promised Arab independence in exchange for their support in World War I, so this was a repayment. Popular support lies with Prince Faisal, who becomes king in 1921. Iraq remains a British mandate until 1932.

February 21, 1921: Reza Khan takes control of Persia (Iran).

Reza Khan, a Persian army officer, deposes the Qajar dynasty that had taken control of the country. He appoints himself Shah in 1925 and seeks to free Iran from foreign influence; his reign will last until 1941. To achieve his ends, he resists the strict laws and archaic customs of the religious mullahs and reduces the influence of the nobles and sheikhs who rule nomadic tribes. He renames the country Iran in 1935.

July 24, 1922: The League of Nations issues a mandate to Britain to establish a national home for the Jewish people in Palestine.

Following the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire after World War I, the territories formerly under the empire's control are divided between France and Britain. In 1920, the principal Allied powers award Britain the mandate for Palestine. Two years later, the League of Nations confirms the mandate, which lays out the terms under which Britain is given responsibility for the temporary administration of Palestine on behalf of both the Jews and Arabs living there. According to the mandate, Britain "shall be responsible for placing the country [Palestine] under such political, administrative, and economic conditions as will secure the establishment of the Jewish national home ... and also for safeguarding the civil and religious rights of all the inhabitants of Palestine, irrespective of race or religion." (from the Balfour Declaration)

November 1, 1922: The Turkish Grand National Assembly abolishes the office of the sultanate.

The Grand National Assembly, led by Mustafa Kemal, hero of the War of Liberation, abolishes the office of the sultanate, thereby ending 631 years of rule by the Ottoman Empire.

May 15, 1923: Britain formally recognizes the independent state of Transjordan.

Since the end of World War I, the British have divided the land of Transjordan into three local administrative districts, with a British "advisor" appointed to each. Faced with the determination of Emir Abdullah to unify Arab lands, the British proclaim him ruler of the three districts, known collectively as Transjordan. On May 15, 1923, Britain formally recognizes the Emirate of Transjordan as a state under the leadership of Emir Abdullah. The treaty stipulates that Transjordan will be prepared for independence under the general supervision of the British high commissioner in Jerusalem.

October 29, 1923: The Republic of Turkey is established.

Mustafa Kemal wins unanimous election as the first president of Turkey. Though nearly all of the population practices Islam, Kemal's government assumes control of religious functions so that religion will not interfere in the affairs of state. Under his leadership, the country undergoes Western-style economic, social, and political modernization.
In the first wave of reforms, Turkey abolishes the offices of its religious head of state (the caliphate) and the courts (the sharia). Separate educational and judicial systems are introduced. The country adopts Sunday as the official weekend holiday (the traditional Muslim day of rest is Friday), as well as the Western calendar.

1926: Lebanon, a French mandate, becomes a semiautonomous republic.

In 1926, Lebanon, now semiautonomous, adopts a constitution that will remain in effect, albeit frequently amended, until 1987. Lebanon will gain full independence from France in 1943.

1926: The Kurdish city of Mosul is awarded to Iraq, rather than Turkey, by the League of Nations.

At the end of World War I, a proposal is put forth to establish an independent Kurdish state, borrowing land from the region that now comprises Iraq, Turkey, and Iran to do so. The failure to pursue that idea further results in the Kurdish issue still in question in both Iraq and Turkey to the present day.

February 17, 1926: Secular law replaces religious law in Turkey.

The Turkish Civil Code is adopted from Swiss Civil Code. The old code and sharia (Islamic law), which had been the foundation of Ottoman personal status law, are replaced. Women gain important rights. Polygamy is forbidden; marriages are to be performed in accordance with civil code, not religious code; and a court decree is required for divorce.

The Ikhwan (translated as "brethren") is a group of Muslims who practice Wahhabism, a puritan form of Islam. Ibn Saud had recruited the Ikhwan to help massacre his non-Wahhabi rivals and add Mecca and the Hejaz region of central Arabia to his domain. He loses his authority over the Ikhwan, however, when he chooses not to battle rivals who hold protective treaties with Britain. In 1929, ibn Saud confronts the Ikhwan militarily, and they are forced to surrender to the British in Kuwait in January 1930.
Not all of the Ikhwan revolt, however, and those who remain loyal to ibn Saud continue to receive government support and remain an influential religious force. They are eventually absorbed into the Saudi Arabian National Guard.

After a year of civil war, Nadir Khan, Amanullah's former minister of war, is crowned King of Afghanistan. King Nadir Shah's reactionary measures undo Amanullah's reforms and reinstate customary Afghan laws and practices.

August 1929: Palestinian Arabs attack Jews following disputes over prayer rights to the Wailing Wall.

In 1928, Arab Muslims and Jews in Jerusalem begin to clash over their respective communal religious rights at the Wailing Wall (known to Muslims as al-Buraq). Controversies about the site were inflamed by nationalists on both sides and resulted in full-scale riots. British troops were called in to restore order. The week-long riots leave 133 Jews dead and 339 wounded, almost all by Arabs. Arab casualties include 116 dead and 232 wounded, most by British troops. Another result of the riots was the termination of the ancient Jewish community Hebron and the Jewish community of Beer-Sheva.

1930s-1950s: Oil exploration begins in the desert, and later offshore, of what is now the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Only 150,000 people, many of them nomadic Bedouins, inhabit the land that will comprise the UAE. With no roads, schools, hospitals, or factories, these people experience one of the lowest standards of living in the developing world until oil is discovered in the region.

Having reigned over much of Arabia during the early part of the 1800s, the al-Saud family loses part of its territory to the Turks in the latter half of the century and is driven from its capital, Riyadh, by the rival House of Rashid. In 1902, Abd al-Aziz recaptures the capital city and begins to reconquer and reunify the country, which he completes some three decades later. In 1927, Abd al-Aziz is officially proclaimed king, and five years later, the country is named the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

October 3, 1932: Iraq is recognized as an independent monarchy.

As previously agreed, Britain terminates its mandate to govern Iraq. Britain maintains a strong presence in Iraq, however, so this independence is limited. Iraq joins the League of Nations and is officially recognized as a sovereign state ruled by a monarch. Iraq receives full autonomy after World War II, when British troops complete their withdrawal.

1933: Iraqi King Faisal dies and is succeeded by his son, Ghazi.

King Faisal is succeeded by his 21-year-old son, Ghazi, who rules from 1933 until his accidental death in 1939. A product of Western education, Ghazi has little experience with the complexities of Iraqi tribal life. While Faisal had the prestige and ability to draw politicians around the idea of national interest, Ghazi is unable to balance competing nationalist and British pressures. As time passes, the nationalist movement begins to view the Ghazi monarchy as little more than a British puppet.

April 1936: Egypt's King Faruq begins his reign.

Faruq, son of the deceased King Fuad, ascends the Egyptian throne. The Wafd Party initially supports the new king and his nationalistic leanings. Within a year, however, Faruq signs the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty. Though it brings Egypt closer to full independence, it allows British forces the right to remain in the Suez Canal zone.

August 1936: The Peel Commission, a royal commission headed by Lord Earl Peel, is appointed to examine the Palestine problem.

In response to the Arab Revolt against British rule in Palestine, the Peel Commission hears testimony from more than 130 Jews, Zionists, Palestinian Arabs, and other Arab nationalists before issuing its report. The commission's report, published in July 1937, calls for the partition of Palestine into a Jewish state, an Arab state, and a British-controlled corridor from Jerusalem to the coast at Jaffa. It also recommends relocating people to deal with the delicate population balance between Jews and Arabs in the proposed Jewish state. The partition plan was accepted as a pragmatically valid principle for settling the Arab-Jewish dispute by the majority of the offical leadership of the Zionist movement who urged further examination of the Bristish proposals. The Arab side rejected the compromise, with the exception of Abdullah of Transjordan.

November 1938: The Woodhead Commission, created to examine the recommendation of the Peel Commission that Palestine be partitioned, issues its report.

After Palestinian Arabs reject the 1937 Peel Commission's partition plan (dividing Palestine into a Jewish state and an Arab state), the British government assembles a team to devise a new plan. (The Zionist Organization had accepted the principle of partition.) The written report includes a statement of policy rejecting partition as impracticable, but suggests that Arab-Jewish agreement might still be possible.

May 1939: Britain publishes the MacDonald White Paper, effectively ending its commitment to a Jewish state.

In May 1939, Great Britain publishes a White Paper, also known as the MacDonald White Paper (named for the British colonial secretary), that marks the end of its commitment to the Jews and a Jewish state under the Balfour Declaration. The White Paper calls for the establishment of a Palestinian (Arab) state within 10 years. It limits the number of Jews to be admitted to Palestine over the next five years to 75,000 and places severe restrictions on land purchases by Jews.
The White Paper receives a mixed Arab reception, and the Jewish Agency rejects it emphatically, calling it a total repudiation of Balfour and mandate obligations. David Ben-Gurion, then chairman of the Jewish Agency, declares, "We shall fight the war against Hitler as if there were no White Paper, and we shall fight the White Paper as if there were no war."

1939-1945: World War II

The outbreak of World War II pits the Allied powers (Britain, France, Australia, New Zealand, Soviet Union, and the U.S.) against the Axis powers (Germany, Italy, and Japan). After six years of fighting, the Allies win the war.

May 1941: Iraqi prime minister Rashid Ali attempts a coup, which results in rebellion and an invasion of British troops.

Strong anti-British sentiment and an increasingly powerful urban nationalist movement come together to spark Prime Minister Ali's 1941 coup attempt. The coup is ultimately unsuccessful in ousting the monarchy, but the landing of British forces completely divorces Iraq's monarchy from the nationalist group.

Iran declares its neutrality at the start of World War II, but Britain is upset at Iran's refusal of Allied demands to expel all German nationals from the country. (Germany had been Iran's largest trading partner prior to the war.) After Hitler's 1941 invasion of the Soviet Union, the Allies desperately need to create a transportation route across Iran and into the Soviet Union, and on August 26, Britain and the Soviet Union simultaneously invade Iran. On September 16, with the collapse of the resistance, Reza Shah Pahlevi abdicates the throne to his son, Mohammed Reza Shah Pahlevi. Exiled to Mauritius and then to Johannesburg, South Africa, Reza Shah dies in July 1944.

King Faruq's appointment of Mustafa al-Nahhas to head the Egyptian government virtually destroys Faruq's authority inside his country. Despite the fact he takes this action under the pressure of British tanks laying siege to his palace, many nationalists view Faruq as corrupt and ineffective.

1943: The National Pact divides the legislative powers of the newly independent Lebanon along sectarian lines.

The National Pact, an oral agreement between President Bishara al-Khouri and Prime Minister Riad al-Sulh, devises a formula for the distribution of seats in parliament according to population figures derived from the 1932 census. Six seats are reserved for all Christian sects, and five for all Muslim sects.

January 1, 1944: France grants Lebanon full independence.

France ends the colonial administration it has held over Lebanon since the end of World War I. Though Lebanon's independence is proclaimed on November 26, 1941, full independence is realized in stages. France transfers most of its governing powers to the Lebanese government on January 1, 1944, and completes troop evacuation in 1946.

This loose affiliation of states favors unity among the Arab people and opposes the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine. The charter is signed in Cairo.

January 7, 1946: A second political party, the Democratic Party, is formed in Turkey, ending years of single-party rule.

Held in 1950, Turkey's first elections see the Republican People's Party (Atat¸rk's old party) lose out to the right-wing Democratic Party. After 10 years of majority rule characterized by abuses of power, however, the armed forces stage a coup, and the Democratic Party is banned.

Soviet troops, originally positioned in northern Iran in 1942 to prevent a possible German move and to protect Iranian oil, intentionally ignore an agreement that calls for the removal of all occupying forces by 1943. They stall as they debate whether they can carve out of the oil-rich northern Iranian province of Azerbaijan an autonomous entity that would be subject to their control. The Soviets ultimately leave after the U.S. threatens military action. The incident contributes to the start of the Cold War.

January 22, 1946: The Kurdish Democratic Party, or KDP, is formed in Iraq.

The KDP's primary goal is autonomy in northern Iraq. The organization is founded by Mustafa Barzani.

April 1946: Syria gains hard-fought independence from the French.

Charles de Gaulle promises Syria independence, but the transition is filled with strife. France demands that its cultural, economic, and strategic interests be protected by treaty before agreeing to withdraw its troops. In May 1945,
demonstrations take place in Damascus and Aleppo; the French respond by bombing the capital. Fighting breaks out in other cities as well. Only after Britain's prime minister, Winston Churchill, threatens to send troops to Damascus
does de Gaulle order a cease-fire. A UN resolution in February 1946 calls on France to evacuate. The French accede, and by April 15, 1946, all French troops have left Syria.

May 14, 1948: The State of Israel is established.

After World War II, a showdown is looming between Jews and Arabs in Palestine. Despite their numerical superiority (1.3 million Arabs to 650,000 Jews), the Arabs are less prepared for conflict than the Jews, who have a government under David Ben-Gurion and an army. The Palestinian Arabs are still in disarray from the Arab Revolt, and most of their leaders have been exiled.
By 1947, mounting violence, including terrorist acts by both Arabs and Jews, leads Britain to declare its mandate over Palestine unworkable. Britain makes plans for its withdrawal and leaves the question of what to do with Palestine to the UN. In August, the United Nations Special Committee on Palestine (UNSCOP) recommends the creation of independent Jewish and Arab states. The plan divides Palestine into roughly equal halves, with Jerusalem and religiously significant surrounding sites under the control of a separate international authority. The report also calls for the Arab and Jewish states to form a united economic bloc.
The Jews accept this plan, but the Palestinian Arabs do not. The partition plan is approved by majority vote of the UN General Assembly on November 29.
Britain completes its withdrawal from Palestine in early May 1948, and on May 14, the State of Israel is declared, with David Ben-Gurion as its first prime minister. Both the United States and the USSR immediately recognize the new state. In support of the Palestinian Arabs, however, neighboring Arab nations -- Egypt, Iraq, Transjordan, Lebanon, and Syria -- declare war on Israel the next day. The Israelis repel the Arab attack. The 1948 War, also known as the Israeli War of Independence, ends in July 1949. Israel signs separate cease-fire agreements with Transjordan, Syria, and Egypt and now controls about 70 percent of what had been Mandatory Palestine. Egypt holds the Gaza Strip, Jordan annexes the West Bank, and Syria retains the Golan Heights.

1950: Israel proclaims Jerusalem its capital.

Though the U.S. still favored keeping Jerusalem an international zone as per the 1947 UN partition plan, Israel proclaims Jerusalem its capital. East Jerusalem, which includes the old city, will remain under Jordan's control until June 1967.

March 7, 1951: Iranian prime minister Ali Razmara is shot to death.

After Prime Minister Ali Razmara advises against nationalizing the oil industry on technical grounds, he is assassinated by Khalil Tahmasebi, a member of the terrorist group of the Fadayan-e Islam.

Before being appointed prime minister, Mossadeq served as a minister and governor in the 1920s. His opposition to the accession of Reza Shah results in imprisonment and later house arrest. Mossadeq returns to parliament in 1941 after Reza Shah is removed from power and replaced by his son, Mohammed Reza Pahlevi.

To prevent foreign interests from controlling the Iranian economy, Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadeq nationalizes the oil industry. This move meets with tremendous resistance, especially from the British, who own substantial oil interests. Mossadeq becomes a national hero to many Iranians and gains international prestige -- Time magazine names him Man of the Year for 1951.

Libya gains independence on December 24, 1951. Setting the stage for independence was a 1949 United Nations resolution stating that Libya should become independent before January 1, 1952. The first country to gain independence through a UN resolution, Libya had been an Italian colony from the early 1900s through World War II and was then under French and British control in the postwar period (1945-1951).

February 18, 1952: Already a founding member of the UN, Turkey becomes a member of NATO.

Turkey celebrates its acceptance into NATO. With it, the country gains protection from any Soviet aggression. It is also more likely to receive foreign aid to assist with modernization. Many Turks interpret the event as symbolic of Western nations finally accepting Turkey as one of their own.

Gen. Muhammad Naguib establishes Egyptian sovereignty; King Faruq I formally abdicates his throne three days later. The events are collectively known as the Egyptian Revolution. Col. Gamal Abd al-Nasser, who leads the nationalist forces in the coup, ultimately seizes power from Naguib in 1954.

Ending years of Egyptian demands, the British agree to withdraw from the Sudan and provide the Sudanese people an opportunity for self-government. The joint pact, signed in 1953, allows for a three-year transitional period leading to full independence. Elections are held late in 1953, and the first republican government takes office in 1954.

Tunisia's bey, or hereditary ruler, assumes control of a new constitutional monarchy. A year later, Habib Bourguiba, president of the country's legislative body, the National Assembly, moves to adopt a constitution that ends the centuries-old tradition of rule by the bey. Bourguiba's policies over the next decade aim to further secularize and modernize Tunisian society.

Britain and France conspire to recapture the canal they once owned, with Israeli assistance. Israel invades Sinai, and Britain and France "intervene" and occupy the canal zone. They withdraw under U.S. and Soviet pressure, unsuccessful in their attempt.

In 1956, Arab nationalism receives a huge boost from the failed attempt of Britain and France to regain control of the Suez Canal from Egypt; in the aftermath, Jordan's King Hussein relieves all British commanders of their positions in the Arab League. In 1957, with Arab nations promising to provide Jordan with enough money to free it from its dependence on British subsidies, Hussein revokes the Anglo-Jordanian treaty that had given Jordan full independence from the British mandate in 1946 in exchange for ongoing British use of military facilities within Jordan. Troops will fully withdraw from Jordan later in the year.

February 1958: The United Arab Republic, a union of Egypt and Syria, is formed.

Egypt and Syria merge to form a single political unit, with Gamal Abd al-Nasser as its president. This is designed as a first step toward creating a pan-Arab union. As such, the inhabitants are simply known as Arabs, the country called "Arab territory." In 1958, the UAR forms a loose federation with Yemen, called the United Arab States. A 1961 military coup in Syria forces the breakup of the UAR, though Egypt continues to use the name until 1971.

July 14, 1958: Iraq's British-backed monarch is overthrown in a military coup.

King Faisal II is assassinated for being perceived as too closely aligned with former colonial power Britain. Iraq is declared a republic, and Gen. Abdel Karim Qasim becomes president. The new government pursues a foreign policy that is decidedly anti-Western.

With Egypt and Syria's pan-Arab movement stirring up sentiments among Lebanon's religious groups, Lebanon's fragile coalition government weakens. The Lebanese army's loyalty to President Kamil Shamun wavers. With the outbreak of civil war between Christians and Muslims, Shamun calls on the U.S. to send troops to secure peace. The U.S., wanting to avoid another coup (as had just occurred in Iraq), sends 5,000 Marines to Lebanon.

The oil boom provides Libya with newfound financial independence, transforming a country with one of the lowest standards of living into one full of opportunities, with growing employment and plans for improved housing, health care, and education. Investing much of its oil profits in other parts of the economy, Libya expands its industry, mining, and agricultural base, irrigating new areas of the desert. Most of the large farms, which are owned by the government, produce foods that were formerly imported, including corn, wheat, and citrus fruits, as well as cattle, sheep, and poultry.

May 27, 1960: In Turkey, a military coup replaces the Democratic Party government with the Committee of National Unity (CNU).

While Turkey's military agrees with Atat¸rk, the founder of modern Turkey, that they stay out of politics, they make an exception when it comes their role as guardian of the constitution and Kemalism. By 1960, the military determines that the government has departed from Kemalist principles and that the republic is in danger. On May 27, 1960, the army seizes the principal government buildings and communications centers and arrests most of the Democratic Party (DP) representatives, as well as the president and prime minister.
The government is replaced by the Committee of National Unity (CNU), an interim government comprised mainly of military personnel. By January 1961 a new constitution is ratified, and in October elections are held, returning the government to civilian rule.

1961: As Britain ends its protectorate in Kuwait, Iraq threatens to claim its neighbor for its own.

After Kuwait gains its independence from Britain on June 19, President Abdel Karim Qasim of Iraq asserts a longstanding Iraqi claim to Kuwait. Kuwait seeks and receives British military support, which in the end is not needed, as Iraq does not launch an offensive. Iraq never formally withdraws its claim, however, and in 1990 invades Kuwait and claims it as Iraq's 19th province.

1962: Civil war erupts when the Yemen Arab Republic is established in the north.

When army officers in the north overthrow the new imam, Muhammad al-Badr, the Yemen Arab Republic is established. Civil war ensues. The republicans are backed by Egypt and the Soviet Union, and the imam's supporters are backed by Saudi Arabia and Britain.

February 8, 1963: President Qasim of Iraq is ousted in a coup led by the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party.

The Ba'ath Party, upset with the President Qasim's dictatorial rule, joins forces with the military to force him out of power. Col. Abd al-Salam Muhammad Arif becomes president and rules until his untimely death in a helicopter crash nine months later.

June 5-10, 1967: The Six-Day War is fought between Israel and the Arab states.

Conflict ignites after three weeks of increasing tensions, including a massive Arab troop buildup in the Sinai Peninsula, as well as an Egyptian blockade of the Straits of Tiran in the Red Sea of ships to or from Israel. On June 5, 1967, Israel responds by launching a surprise attack on Egypt. Other Arab nations, including Syria, Iraq, Kuwait, and Jordan, join Egypt in the fighting. Israel seizes the Golan Heights from Syria, Sinai and the Gaza Strip from Egypt, and East Jerusalem and the West Bank from Jordan before a cease-fire is agreed upon.

June 5, 1967: Egypt closes the Suez Canal in conjunction with the Six-Day War.

Closed during the Six-Day War by the Egyptians, the Suez Canal becomes part of the boundary separating Egypt and the Israeli-occupied Sinai Peninsula after the war. Remaining closed for the next eight years, Egypt loses considerable revenue. Many ships built after the closing (especially tankers) are too large to navigate the canal.

June 9-10, 1967: President Nasser of Egypt resigns.

In response to Egypt's military defeat by Israel in the Six-Day War, President Gamal Abd al-Nasser resigns. Popular demand, however, quickly compels him to resume his post.

The People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (Southern Yemen) is in economic shambles with the closure of the Suez Canal following the Six-Day War and the loss of British trade. The country accepts aid from the Soviet Union and other communist countries to stay afloat.

1968: Yasser Arafat is elected chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization.

Yasser Arafat, leader of the al-Fatah faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), is elected chairman of the executive committee. After his election, he shifts the PLO's main guerrilla forces to Jordan.

Following the Ba'athist coup, Gen. Ahmad Hassan al-Bakr becomes president of Iraq. The country's political system enjoys relative stability over the next 10 years. Money from oil exports contributes to an economic boom. Between 1972 and 1975, annual oil revenues increase from $1 billion to $8.2 billion.

1969-1974: Golda Meir serves as Israeli prime minister, becoming the world's second female head of government.

Kiev-born and Milwaukee-raised Golda Meir emigrated to Palestine in 1921. After holding positions in Israel's first government beginning in 1948 -- as an ambassador, a member of the Knesset, and foreign minister for 10 years -- Meir assumes the role of prime minister upon the death of Levi Eshkol in 1969. Under her leadership, Israel strengthens relations with the U.S. Presiding over Israel during the Yom Kippur War, Meir is harshly criticized for Israel's lack of preparedness against the surprise attack. In April 1974 she resigns, despite having won the election a few months earlier. She dies at age 80 in December 1978.

June 1969: President Salim Rubayi Ali assumes power in Southern Yemen.

Ali succeeds Qahtan al-Shabi, who is overthrown by the Marxist National Liberation Front. The following year the country is renamed the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen, and during Ali's rule, most of the economy is placed under government control.

September 1969: Revolutionary leader Col. Muammar al-Qaddafi takes power of Libya in a military coup.

Qaddafi creates his own political system, the Third International Theory, as an alternative to capitalism and communism. It is a combination of socialism and Islam. From this point on on, all aspects of Libyan life will be controlled by Qaddafi. He declares a jamahariyya (government of the masses) and calls for political, legal, and social changes in accord with his "green book."

Food-processing, textiles and traditional handicrafts, and the banking industries in Libya are among those put under government control. The economy depends primarily on revenues from the oil sector, and although Libya enjoys immense oil revenues coupled with a small population, most of the money stays within the centralized government, and little flows to the general population.

Imam Muhammad al-Badr, Northern Yemen's leader, is exiled to Britain. A new government established by the republicans lasts only four years before army leaders seize control and steer the country in a conservative direction.

With the March Proclamation, signed by Iraq's Revolutionary Command Council (RCC) and Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) leader Mullah Mustafa Barzani, the Iraqi government and the Kurds agree to the creation of a Kurdish autonomous region within the next four years. Although the RCC issues decrees in 1974 and '75 that provide for its administration, these terms are not acceptable to all Kurdish leaders, and a major war ensues. By 1988 the Kurds are defeated. Guerrilla activities, however, continue to this day in parts of Kurdistan.

July 23, 1970: Sultan Qaboos takes over control of Oman from his father and ends the country's isolation from the world.

As sultan, Qaboos holds absolute power over Oman and makes all important decisions. Both sultan and prime minister, he heads the foreign, defense, and finance ministries. After a period of Omani isolation from the rest of the world, Sultan Qaboos bin Said opens up the country to the rest of the world.

Bourguiba becomes the first Arab leader to publicly advocate mutual recognition with Israel.

March 12, 1971: The coup by memorandum: Turkey undergoes its second military coup.

Gen. Faruk G¸rler, leader of the armed forces chiefs, presents a memorandum to Turkish president Cevdet Sunay demanding a "strong and credible government." The civilian officials are told that the military will take over the administration of the state unless a government is found that can rein in the violence and implement the economic and social reforms, including land reform, stipulated in the 1961 constitution. Prime Minister Suleyman Demirel resigns the same day. Nihat Erim replaces Demirel and sets about forming a "national unity, above-party government" that will enlist the support of the major parties. This event is known as the "coup by memorandum."

December 2, 1971: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is formally recognized as an independent state.

The UAE is founded as a federation of six independent emirates, or sheikhdoms. The provisional constitution, made permanent in 1996, allows for a multitiered national government consisting of executive, legislative, and judicial branches. In 1972 a seventh emirate joins the UAE.

February 22, 1972: Sheikh Khalifa becomes Emir of Qatar.

Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad al-Thani, the grandson of Sheikh Abdullah, becomes Emir of Qatar. He is generally considered the first modern ruler of Qatar. Before becoming emir, he served in various capacities and branches of the Qatari government -- ministries of foreign affairs, finance, petroleum, education, culture, and as prime minister.

April 1972: Iraq and the Soviet Union sign a 15-year Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation.

The Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation serves as the basis of friendly relations between the two countries and will continue to do so into the 21st century.

A strained Soviet-Egyptian relationship ruptures on July 18, 1972, when Sadat orders the immediate withdrawal of 5,000 Soviet military advisors and 15,000 air combat personnel. Contributing factors are Moscow's refusal of economic and military aid, Egypt's unwillingness to play the role of a Soviet foreign-policy pawn, and efforts by the U.S. to undermine the relationship. The break in relations also reflects a shift in Egypt to more pro-Western policies.

October 6, 1973: Egypt and Syria attack Israeli forces in the Sinai and Golan Heights on Yom Kippur, the Jewish day of atonement.

The Egyptians and the Syrians attack Israel, hoping to reclaim the lands lost in the 1967 Six-Day War. At the start of the war they make initial gains but are forced to retreat after an Israeli counterattack. This war becomes known as both the October War and the Yom Kippur War. Many Israelis, upset at their country's unpreparedness for this attack, blame Prime Minister Golda Meir, who later resigns. While Egypt and Syria are ultimately unsuccessful in their bid, both sides appear to be hurt in the war.

November 1973: Saudi Arabia leads an oil boycott against the U.S. and other Western countries.

A supporter of Egypt, Jordan, and Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War against Israel, Saudi Arabia still harbors resentment when the Yom Kippur War (October War) erupts. In retaliation for U.S. support of Israel, Saudi Arabia participates in a 1973 Arab oil boycott of the U.S. and other Western nations. The price of oil quadruples, dramatically increasing Saudi Arabia's wealth and political influence.

The Knesset installs Yitzhak Rabin as prime minister following Golda Meir's resignation. Under Rabin's leadership, the government places special emphasis on strengthening the economy, solving social problems, and reinforcing Israeli defense. Three years after his election, however, he is forced to resign when a journalist reveals that his wife has a bank account in the U.S., in violation of Israeli law at the time.
After stepping down as prime minister, Rabin serves in several roles for the Labor Party. In July 1992, the Labor Party wins the election, and Rabin becomes prime minister once again -- a role he holds until his assassination in 1995.

July 20, 1974: Turkey invades Cyprus.

Turkish and Greek Cypriots lived together on the island of Cyprus for almost five centuries. On July 15, 1974, the president is overthrown in a military coup. Diplomacy fails to resolve the crisis. Turkey invades Cyprus by sea and air on July 20, 1974, asserting its right to protect the Turkish minority. Peace talks fail, and the Turks gain control of 40 percent of the island -- amounting to partition of Cyprus. Turkey continues to refuse to remove its troops, despite repeated condemnations by the United Nations.

On March 6, 1975, Iraq and Iran sign a treaty known as the Algiers Agreement, or more precisely the Iran-Iraq Treaty on International Borders and Good Neighborly Relations, whose provisions are brokered by Jordan's King Hussein. The signing takes place at an OPEC convention in Algiers. The agreement delineates the international border between the two countries as the deepest point of the Shatt al-Arab estuary, as opposed to its eastern shore. Baghdad agrees to the treaty in return for Tehran's commitment to stop covert U.S. and Iranian support for the Kurds. In 1980 Iraqi president Saddam Hussein invades Iran, hoping in part to reverse the 1975 agreement.

April 1975: Civil war erupts in Lebanon between the Christian majority and the growing Muslim population.

One cause for conflict is a power imbalance between the dominant right-wing Christian population and the growing Muslim population who feels excluded from real government. A second area of conflict is the Arab-Israeli conflict, with Israel's support for the Lebanese Christian groups, and increasing PLO attacks on Israel from Lebanese bases.
In the summer of 1975 full-scale civil war breaks out between the Muslim coalition allied with Palestinian groups and the Christian-dominated militias.
In April 1976, an uneasy cease-fire is imposed when Syrian military forces intervene at the request of the Lebanese president and with the approval of the Arab League of States. Nevertheless, sporadic violence continues, and in 1978 Israel invades southern Lebanon in an attempt to eliminate Palestinian bases.
By mid-1981, 53 private armies are operating in Lebanon. Cease-fire efforts by the U.S. and others have fleeting impact. Political assassinations, civilian massacres, and kidnappings continue, including a 1983 attack on the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut.
Following one of many cease-fires, a plan is formed at a conference in Taif, Saudi Arabia, calling for a new constitution increasing Muslim representation and accepting a special Syrian relationship. By late 1990, the civil war is at an end.
Since then, Hezbollah rocket attacks, alternating with Israeli air strikes and a 1996 Israeli incursion, has kept the situation fluid in southern Lebanon. Both sides hope to end the combat, but neither will compromise on a demand for Israeli withdrawal from the Golan Heights.

1977: Kurdish is recognized as an official language in Iraq.

The Kurds -- an ethnic group acutely conscious of its cultural differences from the Arabs -- have long struggled to achieve recognition within Iraq, staging rebellions since 1961. By the end of 1977, the Kurdish people are granted greater autonomy, and Kurdish is recognized in Iraq as an official language.

November 19, 1977: Egyptian president Anwar al-Sadat arrives in Jerusalem, becoming the first Arab leader to visit Israel.

During his visit to Israel, President Sadat addresses the Knesset, Israel's parliament, and officially recognizes the state of Israel. This breakthrough in relations paves the way for peace between Egypt and Israel.

1978: Ali Abdullah Saleh is elected president and embraces a Western-style market economy for Northern Yemen.

While Northern Yemen practices a market economy, Southern Yemen's economy is controlled by the state. Saleh will rule for two decades before being declared senile and removed from power.

Just five years after the Yom Kippur War, U.S. president Jimmy Carter hosts Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian president Anwar al-Sadat at Camp David. This historic meeting will result in the first peace accord to be signed by Israel and one of its Arab neighbors.
Several months of more detailed negotiations lead to the signing of a peace treaty on March 26, 1979, in Washington, D.C. Under the treaty's terms, control of the Sinai returns to Egypt, while Israel retains the Gaza Strip. In exchange for the Sinai's return, Egypt recognizes Israel and establishes full diplomatic relations with the Jewish state. Furthermore, Egypt guarantees that most of its forces will stay more than 50 kilometers from the Israeli border. The treaty also allows Egyptian and Israeli citizens to travel between the two countries.
Most Arab nations boycott Egypt as a result of the treaty; Oman is the one exception. Less than three years after the treaty is signed, Islamic extremists assassinate Sadat.

After the Shah is driven from Iran, Ayatollah Khomeini returns from exile to a welcoming crowd of several million. The Islamic Revolutionary Council is formed, and the country is declared the Islamic Republic of Iran on April 1. Khomeini and his supporters blame the Shah and Western influences for oppressing Iran and corrupting Iranian Islamic traditions.

Iraqi president Ahmad Hassan al-Bakr resigns his position citing health reasons. Vice President Saddam Hussein succeeds him as president and chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council (RCC). One year later, Hussein leads Iraq into a bloody war with the new Islamic Republic of Iran that will last for almost a decade.

1980s: Most Libyans enjoy educational opportunities, health care, and housing that are among the best in Africa and the Middle East.

March 1980: The Iraqi National Assembly is formed.

Members of the National Assembly are elected to four-year terms. All members must demonstrate loyalty to the goals of the Ba'ath Party and to Saddam Hussein. Iraq had no national legislature between 1958 and 1980.

September 12, 1980: Turkey undergoes a third military coup.

On September 12, 1980, the armed forces seize control of Turkey for the third time. While the 1960 and 1971 military coups were driven by institutional reform, the 1980 action is deemed necessary to shore up the order created by the earlier interventions. A five-member executive body, the National Security Council, is appointed. On September 21, the NSC installs a predominantly civilian Cabinet.

Though the reasons behind the war are complex, border skirmishes and a dispute over rights to the Shatt al-Arab waterway contribute to the warfare. Iraq seizes thousands of square miles and several important oil fields. Over an eight-year period, more than 500,000 Iraqis and Iranians die, with neither side able to claim victory.

October 6, 1981: Islamists assassinate President Anwar al-Sadat of Egypt.

Anwar al-Sadat's conflicts with Islamic groups in Egypt -- including a crackdown that led to the arrest of more than 1,500 people -- as well as enduring anger over the peace treaty he signed with Israel lead to his assassination. Hosni Mubarak succeeds him as president.

June 6, 1982: Israel invades Lebanon, cutting off food and water in Beirut.

Israel invades Lebanon to drive out Yasser Arafat's Palestine Liberation Organization, which had been using the country as a base for anti-Israeli operations. The United States sends Marines to oversee the peaceful withdrawal of the PLO from the Lebanese capital, Beirut.

Lebanese Christian Maronite president-elect Bashir Gemayel is assassinated. Two days later, Christian militias allied with Israel against the PLO enter the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps in Beirut and massacre some 800 unarmed Palestinians. The Kahan Commission (an Israeli commission of inquiry) finds that Defense Minister Ariel Sharon bears personal responsibility because he did not order 'appropriate measures for preventing or reducing the chances of a massacre.' As a result, Sharon gave up his defense portfolio but remained in the cabinet.

May 1983: Gen. Kenan Evren returns Turkey to democratic rule following three years of military rule.

Gen. Evren leads a 1980 coup and imposes military rule in an attempt to end years of fighting between opposing radical groups that ultimately leads to 5,000 deaths. Returning the country to democratic rule in 1983, he will serve as Turkey's president until 1989.

Begin's resignation, an event publicly attributed to his depression following his wife's death, follows the Israeli invasion of Lebanon (which fails to accomplish all of its objectives) and the embarrassing massacres at the hands of Israel-allied Christian militias of Palestinian civilians in the refugee camps of Beirut. Yitzhak Shamir succeeds Begin as prime minister, replacing him as head of the Herut Party.

The Kurdistan Workers' Party, founded in 1978, launches a campaign of terror designed to win independence for the ethnic Kurdish people living primarily in southeastern Turkey. Between 1984 and 1998, an estimated 20,000 to 40,000 people die in clashes between Turkish troops and Kurdish militants and civilians.

January 1986: Civil war breaks out in Southern Yemen.

A Marxist clash with the government of Southern Yemen results in civil war.

December 9, 1987: The Palestinian intifada, a spontaneous popular uprising against Israeli occupation, starts in the West Bank and Gaza.

Young Palestinian demonstrators hurl stones and incendiary devices at Israeli troops in the Occupied Territories. The Israeli military responds with rubber bullets and live ammunition, consistent with its "iron-fist policy." Curfews are imposed on Palestinians, and arrests and deportations follow. More than 20,000 people, both Israelis and Palestinians, are killed or injured between 1987 and 1993.

July 1988: King Hussein of Jordan severs political links with the PLO and orders its main offices closed.

Although King Hussein recognized the Palestine Liberation Organization as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people in 1974, he severs political links with the PLO and orders its main offices closed. His actions stem from his frustration over the PLO's issuing of a 14-point statement calling for an end to Israeli occupation and an independent Palestinian state, and Yasser Arafat's refusal to accept UN resolutions as a basis for peace talks.

August 8, 1988: UN secretary-general Javier Perez de Cuellar announces a cease-fire between Iran and Iraq, ending the Iran-Iraq War.

The cease-fire ends eight years of war between Iran and Iraq. The Iraqis now turn their attention to the Kurdish population, many of whom had supported Iran. Thousands of Kurds flee Iraq for refuge in Turkey.

November 15, 1988: A Palestine National Council meeting in Algiers proclaims the State of Palestine.

Citing UN Partition Plan 181 from 1947 to support its claim, the PLO's legislative body, the Palestine National Council (PNC), declares a Palestinian state that includes land under Israeli occupation since 1967 (namely the Gaza Strip and West Bank). A flag and a national anthem for the new state are also adopted.

December 2, 1988: Benazir Bhutto becomes prime minister of Pakistan.

Benazir Bhutto, daughter of the country's ex-premier, is sworn in as prime minister of Pakistan. She is the first woman to head the government of an Islamic state.

December 14, 1988: The PLO recognizes the State of Israel and calls for negotiations.

The United States had long refused to deal with the Palestine Liberation Organization until it accepted certain conditions: The PLO, headed by Yasser Arafat, must recognize Israel's right to exist and renounce the use of terrorism. By the late 1980s, talk of peace negotiations is in the air. To participate, though, Arafat and the PLO acknowledge that they must satisfy the U.S.'s preconditions, and in December, Arafat promises PLO recognition of Israel and renouncement of terrorism. A U.S.-PLO dialogue begins shortly thereafter; these talks ultimately lead to the 1991 Madrid Conference.

June 4, 1989: Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran dies and is succeeded by Ali Khameini.

Some two million Iranians attend the Ayatollah Khomeini's funeral in Tehran in 1989. Thousands of mourners are injured in the chaos. After Khomeini's death, Ali Khameini becomes ayatollah, Iran's chief religious leader (also known as the Supreme Leader).

June 30, 1989: A military coup backed by the National Islamic Front brings Lt. Gen. Omar Hassan al-Bashir to power in the Sudan.

Stricter interpretations of Islamic law are imposed under Lt. Gen. al-Bashir's regime.

May 22, 1990: Northern and Southern Yemen unite in a democratic republic.

North and south reunite after nearly a decade of trying. The formation of the Republic of Yemen ends centuries of tribal and religious squabbles and signals the end of absolute rule. A democratic system of government based on popular elections, freedom of speech, and an independent judiciary is installed.

Iraq's invasion of Kuwait is triggered in part because of Iraq's inability to repay more than $20 billion in loans to Kuwait, but also because of other issues related to historical border disputes. By a vote of 14-0, the UN Security Council condemns the invasion and demands unconditional withdrawal of Iraqi troops from Kuwait. On August 6, the UN imposes sanctions on Iraq, ending all trade with the aggressor nation. A U.S.-led coalition forms to forcibly remove Iraq from Kuwait. The Persian Gulf War will cost $8.1 billion and 383 U.S. lives before it ends in March 1991.

September 21, 1990: The Taif Accord balances power in Lebanon's executive branch between Christians and Muslims, ending the 25-year civil war.

The Charter of Lebanese National Reconciliation, or the Taif Accord, is signed into law. It establishes a more representative executive branch based on recent estimates of the population. A half-Christian, half-Muslim Cabinet assumes many of the powers of the president, and the Muslim prime minister is given powers more equitable to those of the Christian president.

1991: As emigration restrictions are loosened in Russia and former Eastern bloc countries, about a million Jews arrive in Israel.

Over the past decade, many Eastern European countries have begun to mitigate their foreign policies on Israel, opening diplomatic relations and lifting emigration bans. The migration of Jews from Russia and former Soviet states gives Israel the largest Russian-speaking population outside the former Soviet Union.

January 15, 1991-March 3, 1991: A U.S.-led military coalition, with support from key Muslim states, fights to remove Iraqi forces from Kuwait.

Following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in August 1990, the United States, the former Soviet Union, Japan, and much of Europe and the Middle East condemn the attack and resolve to drive the invaders out. Of note, Turkey, the sole Muslim member of NATO, allows the U.S. to use its territory as a staging point for strikes on Iraq during the Persian Gulf War. Saudi Arabia does likewise. Some 100,000 Iraqis are killed in the war, with relatively few reported coalition casualties. Though his army is forced to surrender, Iraqi president Saddam Hussein does not relinquish power.

In return for foreign lenders agreeing to wipe out $10 billion in debt, Egypt promises to adopt a sales tax, cut fuel subsidies, and slash tariffs on foreign goods. For the first time since Egypt nationalized major industries in the 1960s, the government also lets foreigners buy Egyptian property, control Egyptian banks, and even own and operate Egyptian power stations and highways.

1991: Jordan comes under severe economic and diplomatic strain as a result of the Persian Gulf crisis following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait.

Insisting on an Arab solution to the Persian Gulf crisis (which began in August 1990 with the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait), King Hussein of Jordan and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat spearhead peace initiatives, but are regarded as appeasers of Iraq's Saddam Hussein by the West and the US's Gulf Arab allies. Both King Hussein and Yasser Arafat suffer global diplomatic isolation while, more locally, Gulf states cut off their financial aid.
As aid from Gulf Arab states and other income sources contract, refugees flood Jordan, stunting its GDP growth and straining government resources. Because Jordan is a small country with inadequate supplies of water and other natural resources such as oil, the loss of aid from neighboring Arab states aggravates its already serious economic problems, forcing the government to stop most debt payments and suspend rescheduling negotiations.

1991: The UN deems Iraq a pre-industrial state as a result of its recent wars.

The war with Iran from 1980-88 and the recent Gulf War, together with the subsequent imposition of international sanctions, has a devastating effect on Iraq's economy and society. UN reports describe living standards as being at subsistence level. Some 47,000 children under 5 years of age are believed to have died from war-related causes following the Gulf War alone.

The Madrid Peace Conference is jointly sponsored by the United States and Russia. Two negotiating tracks are established: Separate bilateral talks involving Israel, the Palestinians, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon are intended to resolve past conflicts and sign peace treaties; and multilateral negotiations are aimed at building the Middle East of the future.

December 1991: The Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) wins the first round of general elections in Algeria.

In the first round of general elections in Algeria in 1991, the FIS wins 188 seats outright and seems sure to obtain an absolute majority in the second round. The National People's Assembly is dissolved by presidential decree, and a military council takes power. After violent demonstrations, the FIS is disbanded. In June, President Mohammed Boudiaf is assassinated by a bodyguard with Islamist links. Increasing violence is linked to the Armed Islamic Group (GIA).
The FIS election victory and response by the Algerian state opens a debate in the Middle East and the West on whether Islamists should be allowed to come to power democratically and what the consequences would be. Islamists feel frustrated with the democratic process, and many turn to more radical methods.

May 9, 1992: Iraqi Kurds elect a regional parliament and establish their own government.

The citizens of the Kurdish-controlled area of Iraqi Kurdistan elect a National Assembly and leader of the Kurdistan Liberation Movement. The stated purpose of the election is to fill the legal and administrative vacuum left by the withdrawal of the Iraqi government and to facilitate a negotiated settlement for
self-government within Iraq by organizing a democratically elected body to represent Kurdish interests.

June 1993: Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani is elected president of Iran.

Iran's president, prime minister, and Cabinet ministers do not have independent decision-making power. They answer to the spiritual leader and to a group of religious scholars appointed by the spiritual leader. A legislature, appointed by the people every four years, makes laws in keeping with Islam. A council made up of six lawyers and six clergy oversee this legislature.

August 20, 1993: Israel and the PLO sign the Declaration of Principles (Oslo Accords).

The agreement reached in Oslo outlines an Israeli redeployment from parts of the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip and the establishment of a provisional Palestinian self-rule government. The two sides agree to recognize one another publicly. The U.S. hosts a ceremony at which the Declaration of Principles, also called the Oslo Accords, is signed on September 13.

May 4, 1994: Israel and the PLO agree on the initial implementation of the Oslo Accords in the Gaza-Jericho Agreement (Cairo Accords).

As a result of the Oslo peace process, the Gaza-Jericho Agreement -- also known as the Cairo Accords -- includes an Israeli military withdrawal from about 60 percent of the Gaza Strip (Jewish settlements and their environs excluded) and the West Bank town of Jericho. The agreement envisages further withdrawals from yet-to-be-agreed-on areas of the Occupied Territories. A five-year period begins in which a permanent resolution is to be negotiated on Jerusalem, settlements, Palestinian refugees, and sovereignty.

July 1, 1994: Arafat returns to Gaza to take up his new position as head of the new Palestinian Authority.

Following the signing of the Declaration of Principles and the Cairo Agreement, Yasser Arafat enters Gaza after 27 years living outside of Israel. He had spent the past 12 years running the PLO from Tunis.

October 26, 1994: Jordan signs a peace treaty with Israel, ending a 46-year official state of war.

Only the second such agreement between Israel and one of its Arab neighbors, the peace treaty between Jordan and Israel establishes a solid framework for cooperation in the political, economic, and cultural fields. The treaty is the formalization of secret arrangements between the two countries that had been in place for many years.
Because Jordan is dependent on Iraq for oil, has a large Palestinian Arab population hostile to Israel, and faces constant pressure from Syria, Jordan's King Hussein had in the past been reluctant to reveal his more moderate policies toward Israel. The elements that had prevented open and peaceful relations between the former enemies, however, were finally offset by the Gulf War and by the Oslo peace process, which made it politically acceptable for an Arab entity to be in peace negotiations with Israel.

March 1995: Thirty-five thousand Turkish troops are sent to fight Kurdish rebels in Iraq.

A civil war between Kurds and Turks has been going on for years. As a result, many Kurds have fled Turkey for Iraq, where Kurdish guerrillas continue to enter Turkey. The Turks' invasion, called Operation Steel, backfires, as only 158 Kurdish rebels are killed in the first week.

June 1995: Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani of Qatar deposes his father in a bloodless coup.

Sheikh Hamad deposes his father with the support of the Qatari armed forces after accusing him of stealing from oil and gas revenues. Born in Doha in 1950 and educated in Qatar and abroad, Sheikh Hamad's policies modernize Qatar through the expansion of business and foreign relations, the use of natural resources, and the loosening of restrictions on the press and media.

In Washington, D.C., Yasser Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin sign the Taba Agreement, known as Oslo II, to expand Palestinian self-rule in the West Bank and Gaza and to allow Palestinian elections. In those elections, held on January 20, 1996, Arafat wins roughly 85 percent of the votes in his bid to head the Palestinian National Authority.

Turkey's first Islamist prime minister, Necmettin Erbakan, leader of Turkey's Welfare Party (Refah), is forced to step down in 1997, and the party itself outlawed, after being judged a threat to Turkey's secular constitution. In 2002 he is sentenced to more than two years in prison for embezzling party political funds.

November 1996: The ruler of Oman, Sultan Qaboos, outlines a bill of rights based on Islamic law.

Oman's constitution, called the Basic Law, ensures press freedoms, tolerance for all religious faiths, and equality for everyone, regardless of race, creed, or sex. It also calls for a court system that would interpret the law.
Oman and Qatar are the only Gulf states in which women can vote.

May 26, 1997: Iranian voters elect Mohammed Khatami president.

Mohammed Khatami campaigns for president for just two weeks on a platform emphasizing return to the rule of law and restoration of civil society. Almost immediately, police stop hassling women for improper dress, and bolder women start wearing their head scarves further back on the head, showing more of their hair. Newspapers report freely about the government.

October 23, 1998: Israeli prime minister Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority chairman Arafat sign the Wye River Memorandum, outlining further Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank.

After a peace summit held by U.S. president Bill Clinton, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority chairman Yasser Arafat sign an agreement calling for, among other things, the Israeli military to pull back from portions of the West Bank and the Palestinian Authority to combat terrorist organizations more effectively.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu had lost support from both hard-line conservatives in his government and opposition Labor Party members. Hard-liners were angry with Netanyahu for agreeing to turn over additional land to Palestinians in the October 1998 Wye River accords. Opposition members turned against Netanyahu when he suspended those same accords a few weeks later, citing security concerns.
Increasing violence also may have also been a factor in the Knesset's decision. Palestinian militants are suspected of opening fire on a van of Jewish settlers in the West Bank city of Hebron earlier in the week, wounding two Israeli women. The Israeli army responds by imposing a curfew on Palestinians in the area who live under Israeli control. The violence, coupled with an overall lack of confidence in the government's ability to secure true peace, contribute to a growing lack of hope and a general change from optimism to pessimism.

February 7, 1999: King Hussein of Jordan dies.

During his 46-year reign, King Hussein worked hard to normalize relationships between Israel and the Arab states. His death leaves his country still struggling for economic and social survival, as well as for regional peace. His son and successor, King Abdullah, faces the task of maintaining the country's stability while accommodating growing calls for political reform.

Ehud Barak, widely regarded as more amenable to peace negotiations with the Palestinians than the incumbent, Likud prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, pledges he will be a prime minister "for all Israelis." He defeats Netanyahu in a divisive campaign.

September 4, 1999: The Israelis and Palestinians sign a revised deal aimed at reviving the Middle East peace process.

At Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt, Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat sign an agreement restating the commitment of both sides to full implementation of all agreements reached since the first Oslo Agreement of September 1993. They pledge to resolve the outstanding issues of the interim status, in particular those set out in the 1998 Wye River Memorandum, in order to accelerate completion of the interim period toward initiation of negotiations on permanent status.

March 21, 2000: Israel hands over some of the West Bank territory to the Palestinians.

The West Bank land handed over in a transfer from Israeli to Palestinian control amounts to 6.1 percent of the total Occupied Territories. This completes the transfer agreement made at Wye River in 1998.

A peace summit hosted at Camp David by U.S. president Bill Clinton ends after two weeks, with the parties unable to come up with a formula to reconcile divisive issues concerning competing Israeli and Palestinian claims to Jerusalem, security, borders, and refugees. At the summit, Barak offers far-reaching compromises to resolve the disputes, while Arafat offers nothing. President Clinton publicly blames Arafat for the failure. Barak and Arafat, however, promise to continue to work toward a permanent peace agreement.

September 28, 2000: Ariel Sharon's visit to the al-Aqsa mosque marks the beginning of a second Arab intifada.

Ariel Sharon, leader of Israel's right-wing opposition party, Likud, visits the area around the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem accompanied by 1,000 armed policemen and riot forces. A large police presence at a site sacred to Muslims, together with the timing of the visit -- on the heels of failed talks to end Israeli occupation peacefully -- strike a nerve with many Palestinians. Clashes ensue between Palestinian rioters and Israeli soldiers.
The Islamic resistance movement Hamas calls on Palestinians to storm Israeli army outposts in the Occupied Territories. This marks the beginning of the second intifada, or "shaking off," known as the al-Aqsa intifada. Violence spreads from Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem to northern Israeli towns such as Nazareth and Umm al-Fahem. By mid-December, more than 300 are dead, including 13 Israeli Arabs.

With his governing coalition on the verge of collapse, Prime Minister Barak submits his resignation to Israeli president Moshe Katsav. The next election, scheduled to take place within 60 days, is to serve as a vote of confidence or no-confidence on Barak and his policies.

Ariel Sharon wins election to the office of prime minister with the largest vote margin ever in Israeli politics. The Likud Party leader begins efforts to unite the country by attracting members of the defeated Labor Party to his administration. The unity government that he forms is the largest in Israel's history and is split into a broad spectrum of left, right, center, and religious parties.

June 10-16, 2002: Hamid Karzai is elected head of Afghanistan's Transitional Authority by the emergency loya jirga, or grand council.

The loya jirga, a centuries-old political institution made up of representatives of Afghan society, convenes in Kabul to restore the Afghan government. For the first time in Afghan history, women are allowed to participate. It is decided that free and fair elections will be held within two years.